Arknights Rise From Ember, produced by Yostar Pictures, sees the conclusion of the series’ three-season arc. What began in Prelude to Dawn ends here. As Talulah (Maaya Sakamoto, Fire Force) and the members of Reunion threaten to drive the mobile city of Chernoborg into the city of Lundmen. And all that stands between them and a calamity that could leave the entire world ablaze is the operatives of the Rhodes Island Institute, and their determined leader, Amiya (Tomoyo Kurasawa, Clevatess).
If there is one thing that demands respect in storytelling, it’s when a narrative knows what it wants to be and goes for it. Despite possibly making it off-putting to some, it embraces the greatest strengths of what it has to offer, unwilling to compromise its best elements to broaden its appeal. Arknights Rise From Ember walks this path with a dogged determination that would make both its heroes and villains proud.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
At the heart of what makes the story of Arknights compelling is the grand emotions that infuse every character and their motivations. Despite existing in a desolate, post-apocalyptic sci-fi world, every major character and moment is saturated with an air of the dramatic that frequently feels Shakespearean.
Arknights Rise From Ember leaves no confusion about why Talulah is a great villain.
Dramatic monologues and soliloquies deliver the determination of the cast. From the grand to the personal, every vow, goal, and pledge feels like it arrives bearing the weight of the world, thanks to the flowery writing and driven voice acting. And at the center of all the conflicts and tragedies stands Talulah.
As an unseen shadow throughout the first two seasons, Talulah’s grand entrance needed to deliver a villain who could stand as large as the hype built her up to be. With both her powerful arts and renowned charisma, Talulah needed to be a character that legions would march to their death for. Thanks to a multi-episode deep dive into her past, Arknights Rise From Ember leaves no confusion about why so many willingly follow her.
Talulah’s history is one wrought from hardship and perseverance. Her determination to safeguard the Infected drives her every step of the way on her personal journey. As the losses mount, though, it becomes clear why Talulah goes from a kindly protector to the grand villain. And you will be hard-pressed to blame her for wanting to burn the world by the end of her backstory.
By the time the final battle arrives, every party has been tempered in such searing heat.
The power and magnitude of Talulah’s final steps on the road to perdition come to life thanks to the harmonious utilization of every aspect of the anime medium. Voice work, animation, cinematography, and direction all come together to present a final descent that is worthy of the grandest theatrical stories.
While the villain stands at the heart of all the conflict that permeates Arknights Rise From Ember, the heroes’ side of the conflict is split. While the grand struggle continues to be most directly embodied by Amiya, the personal tragedy of the narrative comes to focus most centrally on Madam Ch’en (Shizuka Ishigami, Fire Emblem: Three Houses). A high-ranking Lundmen official, and Taluluah’s estranged sister.
Bodies and tears scatter in the wake of both protagonists’ roads to their final confrontation with Talulah. Called upon to confront both foes and friends at times, the journey portrayed in the present demands as much from the heroes as Talulah’s past did of her. By the time the final battle arrives, it feels like every party involved has been tempered in such searing heat that not even the hardest steel could stop their inevitable clash.
Hardships are always framed with meaning in Arknights Rise From Ember.
When Arknights Rise From Ember delivers that final battle, it lives up to the build-up and spectacle in every way. The powers and physical conflict are animated masterfully, as are the white-hot burning emotions of the participants. The voice acting draws out the anger, pain, and resolve of the moment, usurping the combat and making it an extension of the scene’s emotion, rather than a hollow spectacle of fire and blades.
Alongside the central characters are numerous side stories that are crafted with the same level of care. That this is a cold and cruel world cannot be denied, and every character has had to walk their own, painful paths. However, rather than simply feeling like trauma for its own sake, these hardships are always framed in more meaningful lights. Perseverance and strength are centered, making sure there is no doubt about how tenacious heroes and villains all are about their goals.
While there is much to praise about this series, it does have some faults. In its pursuit of the grand narrative it strives to craft, it often leaves details and supporting information by the wayside. Scene changes never bother to elaborate on where the story has moved to. The same disinterest is shown towards the chronology of the flashbacks.
Arknights Rise From Ember’s pacing drags on a little too long.
Has a year passed? Has a week? Who knows? Long-absent characters reappear with no clarifying information, as the series assumes you still remember who every person in the huge cast is. This disregard for the story’s trappings sometimes takes away from the emotions and character as the viewer tries to get their bearings.
The other place where Arknights Rise From Ember can fail is in its pacing. Some moments drag on a little too long, while others skip past too fast to fully land. These shortcomings manage to stay out of the biggest moments, so their presence never causes too much damage.
Arknights Rise From Ember is a seven that I love like a ten. Its flaws are unmistakable, but when it is firing on all cylinders and speeches are being given, or the emotions of the cast are manifested in the form of swords and fire, the narrative leaves all its flaws behind, delivering a grand epic that we don’t often see, but could always use more of.
Arknights: Rise From Ember is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
